Dinner Time Fun...

Growing up family meals around the table were always an important and meaningful time. Both of my parents were teachers so during the school year their weekly schedules were pretty busy, but they made sure to gather all of us together each night to reconnect after the days events. As teenagers my sibs and I had our share of eye rolls and attitudes, but looking back I certainly would not trade that for anything. Todd and I have made a point of making meal time a time to hear about the girls days, and sharing things that are going on in each of their lives.

Tonight we played "Dinner Games". This is a game of trivia questions and dinner activities that are geared to making dinner a fun and meaningful time together.

Tonight's games consisted of:

1. Get To Know Ya Trivia - We would ask the girls questions about ourselves...places we've lived, questions about our parents, etc....It was fun to hear some of their answers and then to tell them more about us...things that we wouldn't think to share on a "normal" day. The girls then asked us questions about themselves....We needed to answer questions about favorite recess activities, favorite school subject, friends they like to spend time with at school, etc....

2. Mrs. Paghetti's Spaghetti - The youngest child at the table begins the game by filling in the blank in this sentence, "Mrs. Paghetti likes her spaghetti with _____________ on top". The next person repeats the sentence with the first topping, plus one of his or her own. Each player in turn repeats the sentence with all the previous toppings and adds a new one as well. You continue this until no one can name all the toppings (or until mom or dad decide it's gone on long enough and we need to get to cleaning up the kitchen!)

This is how our family decided Mrs. Paghetti liked her Spaghetti:

Mrs. Paghetti likes her spaghetti with garlic, quesadillas, ketchup, bowling pins, light bulbs, toe nail clippings (thanks for that one Hannah!), hot fudge, yellow snow, fire, maple syrup, gum drops, and the State of Missouri....on top!

Quite the imaginations....

Dinner games are a lot of fun and great opportunity to have some laughs around the family table at meal time.

Out With The Old....In With The New...

This past year has brought some incredible blessings, new friends, new adventures, and many new wonderful memories. It was also accompanied by some hurts, losses, & disappointments...but looking ahead we are filled with much faith and trust that many great things will happen in 2009.

We decided to bring in the New Year down in Kalamazoo. Todd's sister and her husband are part of an improv group that has been part of the Kalamazoo New Years Fest the past 5 years. A variety of groups and acts were performing simotainiously throughout the night at various churches in downtown Kalamazoo. We found ourselves laughing so hard it hurt. The girls even got to participate in one of the groups skits. Other things we experienced included outdoor jazz music, a silent comedienne, a Creole band, African drummers and dancers, possibly the best soup in a bread bowl ever, lots of hot chocolate (it was a balmy 15 degrees outdoors), and fireworks at midnight while standing with a multitude of strangers all wishing for nothing but good things for the year ahead. It made for an incredible night....one that may just go down as one of the best New Years Eves ever! This could very well become our new New Years Eve tradition!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning was a lot less rushed this year....We enjoyed spending time with the girls opening stocking, making Belgian waffles, and exchanging gifts. It is always fun as a parent to see the excitement on your child's face when they open that gift that they've been crossing their fingers for! Hannah has moved on past the toy stage so she gets geeked when she opens presents that are clothes or things for her room....so fun!!!!


Christmas afternoon we spent at my dad and Susan's house. It was a lighter crowd this year without Brian & Marcia and Mike, Carrie, & the boys. It was a nice afternoon....less busy as years past, less presents too....all of us kids had asked for them to slow the pace down, and cut back on the presents and focus more on spending time together and not rushing through to get to the next activity. It was pleasant day including some games of Quiddler & Outburst....good food...and ending the day with Jesus' birthday cake. A nice way to spend Christmas afternoon!

A Nostalgic Hultink Christmas...

It is tradition in the Hultink family to celebrate Christmas all together on Christmas Eve. Years ago we added to that tradition by making Christmas Eve a theme night...including the ever growing and competitive appetizer/dessert contest. The winner of the contest then gets to choose the theme for the next year and plan the night's events. Todd and I won last year....(At the movies was the theme....We made Snowberry Trifle with Maple crusted pecans....after the movie ELF...what clinched it for us was that Todd dressed as Buddy the Elf...yellow tights and all!)

This year we chose the theme...A Nostalgic Hultink Christmas. The night started with all 22 of us outdoors for a nativity walk. We read scripture, the kids placed pieces of the nativity together as we retold the story of Christ's birth. Then we ended at a spruce tree right outside mom and dad's front door with Todd saying a prayer as everyone hung ornaments with their name on it as a keepsake for Todd's folks. The rest of the night included Hultink Family Trivia...a hilarious walk down memory lane....a kids exchange including some retro candy from Uncle Dann and Aunt Tara (even candy cigarettes made the cut...come on...we all did that when we were kids!!!) After the kids all got snuggled in to watch a Christmas movie, the adults proceeded onward to the food contest. We had thrown in the idea of extra points this year for anyone who performed a song that had to do with their appetizer....We had Rudolph the Rednose Rain deer on a plate (grilled marinated Venison with jalapeno, wrapped in bacon and topped with the tomato for the red nose...absolutely incredible...and I don't eat deer!)....There was bacon wrapped water chesnuts in marinade accompanied by a hilarious song about the Hultink family to the tune of the MSU fight song sung by Brandon. There was marinaded cheese made into the Nativity Star....absolutely delicious! Mom and dad sung about their love of their family and fondue!! Mom had to start about 15 times until she could actually get it out.....so funny! Then the grand winners of the night....Partridge in a Pear tree....Mini pears stuffed with herbs and goat cheese, wrapped in bacon....(you would have thought that bacon was the theme this year!!!)....The thing that clinched it for Dann and Tara was the rendition of 12 days of Christmas sung about Dann's top 12 gifts ever...absolutely hilarious and creative. The night ended with our gift exchange. Every year it is different, so Todd and I chose a book exchange along with your favorite beverage to drink (favorite bookie to read while enjoying a schlukie in your favorite nookie so to speak). It was fun to see what books people brought and all the beverages that accompanied them. All and all an incredibly memorable night, one we will always remember!

Homemade Christmas...

The girls had fun making picture frames for their friends, bookmarks for teachers, and ornaments for family....

Just having fun...

Christmas and Birthday Celebration...

Today we went to Todd's parents house to celebrate Sophie's birthday and to exchange Christmas gifts. A few years ago his parent's decided to get together with each family separately to do a smaller Christmas celebration. This makes it more fun for them to watch the grandkids open their gifts and not having the distraction of everyone ripping into presents at the same time. Christmas Eve is more enjoyable with just a small gift exchange amongst the kids and an adult exchange later in the night. It's also a good excuse to have another special night together!